Tuesday, May 21, 2013 (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Despite the devastation, two area tinters say they have seen little impact from the storm.

“We’re okay,” said Gary Tatum, president of D&R Pro Trim in Moore. “We work out of our house so we’re okay. I’m actually out of town right now doing a job.”

“Moore is where it was hit hardest, miles north of us,” said Terry Evans, manager of Evans Window Tinting in nearby Norman, Okla. “We’re fine; Norman is fine.  Where our shop is we got only about five minutes of rain yesterday.”

Calls to many other nearby tint shops, however, went unanswered.

Eastman Chemical Co., manufacturer of LLumar Window Film, has signed on as one of the Supporters of the 2013 International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off™ (IWFC). The event is set to be held this September 18-20 in Tampa, Fla., at the Tampa Convention Center and Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina. The Exhibition/Extravaganza will be held September 18-20.

During the conference, attendees will be able to take part in educational seminars by industry leaders and expert speakers, network on the Exhibition/Extravaganza show floor with window film manufacturers and suppliers and view the Tint-Off™ competitions.

We spoke with Darrell Reed, global commercial director for Eastman’s performance films division.

Window Film magazine: Darrell, why did LLumar choose to sponsor the 2013 International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off™ (IWFC)?

Reed: As a leading global manufacturer of window film, LLumar feels it is necessary to support any event that shines a light on the skills and expertise of our industry peers. By supporting these experts, we are making an investment in the future of our industry and doing our part to ensure the high standards of quality, innovation and service we have all come to expect from the window film industry.

Window Film magazine: Why is an event like the IWFC important to the film industry?

Reed: Within any industry, it is important for those involved to come together as a single support unit with a common goal for future growth and success. The IWFC offers dealers and manufacturers an arena to share best practices and exchange knowledge as they move toward that goal. Furthermore, the collective action of the IWFC and its members creates a platform from which to build category awareness and overall market growth.

Window Film magazine: What can attendees expect to see from LLumar at the 2013 show?

Reed: Attendees can expect to have full access to representatives from both our marketing technical service group and sales organization. During the competition you will get the chance to watch some of the industry’s best, while installing LLumar high-performance products. We are excited to showcase the ease of install of our products; nothing could be a greater test of this attribute than to perform under pressure at this highly competitive level. We will also have Logan Bryant, manager of marketing technical services Americas, on hand to speak to attendees about how to increase efficiency and profits through the use of our new Precision Cut 4 software and plotter systems. This will be a seminar you do not want to miss.

Window Film magazine: What do you hope your dealers and distributors can obtain by attending an event like this?

Reed: We hope that our dealers and distributors walk away from this event with valuable insights into where our industry is going. The market is forever changing, the competitive landscape, consumer needs and available technology is constantly evolving; we hope that attendees can better prepare for these shifts through advancements in marketing, digital tools, techniques and best practices. It is important for everyone to learn how these advancements can change the way their business interacts with the market … and most importantly, how the market interacts with their business. With this increased insight comes the opportunity for long-term sustainable growth.

Window Film magazine: Does LLumar have any advice for the 2013 Tint-Off™ Automotive and Architectural Division competitors?

Reed: The installers need to be familiar with the judging criteria, films and vehicles. Contestants should be well-rested and ready to compete because the field of competitors will be very strong this year. It is going to be a great show!

The International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off™ is co-sponsored by Window Film magazine and the International Window Film Association. Auto Glass Week™ also will be held concurrently. The event is managed by Window Film magazine.

Eastman Chemical Co. is a producer of aftermarket window films and a supplier of precision-coated film and film components sold to a variety of businesses. The business manufactures films that provide comfort, aesthetics, energy savings, safety and security when applied to glass. Eastman’s brand family of window film includes LLumar, Formula One, Vista and EnerLogic Window Films.

To register or for more information, visit the official event website, www.windowfilmmag.com/iwfc.

Interwest Distributing will now distribute 3M window films for the west coast at its new Anaheim, Calif., location.

According to Peter Eisenberg, 3M Window Film U.S. sales and marketing manager, the split between the companies had nothing to do with the recent news that Patric Fransko was leaving SGD/Zola, though the announcement did speed up the company’s timeline for announcing the change.

“For us this was a big industry change and we’re very excited about it,” says Eisenberg, noting the switch was 3M’s choice. “We hold Patric in extremely high regards. We made this decision before he left; he was aware of the decision.”

Eisenberg says both he and 3M are thrilled with the change.

“We are very excited to have [Interwest] continue on to be a partner of ours,” he says. “We wish the distributor not handling this the best of luck, but we know this is the best thing for our us, our dealer network and the industry as a whole.”

For dealers who may be hesitant to consider the change Eisenberg says, “Look back three or four years ago at the positive changes the 3M and the distribution network has made. Not only has it made an investment in resources but an investment in programs, an investment in products, an investment in promotions and a long-term investment in the 3M brand. I would also say the resources that have been put in place have shown a large commitment to this industry and to this business. Everything we do from our website leads to our product to our advertising is done around having a consumer or a business person find one of our dealers. People trust the 3M brand, they trust 3M window film and they trust that we are going to continue to be around and in this business for the next 110 years … They now will see increased investments in inventory, increased investments in training immediately that will allow them to build their business.”

Hugh Bernardi, Jr., president of Interwest, says, “I think [the new region is] an expansion of what we currently do. 3M has a very high level of investment in this industry. Interwest has started to focus a lot more on business education in the industry and installation training. In the next 30 days we’re going to have about five open houses. Our mission within the industry is to build better businesses with 3M products. If the dealers are really interested and the entrepreneurs who run the dealerships are interested, we can help them expand their businesses and grow.”

Bernardi says for the open houses, “We invite dealers in a specific geography … and we give them a lot of exposure in how to make their business better. That can be anything from the installation of new products, to how to use new software packages or marketing purposes. It can also be education on the business side: how to price products for optimal profitability, how to manage employees and different ways to look at financing.”

Interwest, which previously had two locations in Denver and Chicago, is opening its third location in Anaheim, Calif., June 3, to distribute 3M on the west coast. Bernardi says an open house will be held the same day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST.

“I really felt it was time for me to turn a page and look for what I really want to do for the rest of my life,” says Fransko. “It was an underlying drive of me questioning myself for the last year. I have a lot of friends who have engaged in careers who have the attitude: ‘I can’t believe they’re paying me to do this.’ I want to get back to that spot in my life.”

Fransko says he also plans to focus on his personal life, spending more time with his wife and family as well as devoting time to his church.

“One of the things I want to do in the coming years is become more involved with my ministry and my church,” says Fransko. “It was a big part of the decision. My church is involved with a lot of outreach and I’d like to get more involved with it.”

While he still holds a soft spot for the window film industry, Fransko says he’s open to a variety of opportunities.

“Right now, when I turned in my resignation I didn’t have anything locked in … I knew within the industry and out of it there would be opportunities for me,” Fransko states. “I’m not opposed to staying in the industry but I’m also exploring opportunities outside of it. I felt strongly that I wanted to take the step that I did and I knew when I re-engaged there’d be opportunities there.

The automotive industry and cars are something I’m passionate about, so the car side of the business is something I like doing even when I’m not getting paid. [I like] automotive aftermarket—and that may or may not involve window film—but I’d like to end up in the automotive segment if that’s possible,” he adds.

“Some people have asked me if it was my choice to leave and the answer is absolutely. It came down to me saying that I was re-evaluating where I was in my life and turning the chapter,” says Fransko. “This industry has been awesome to me and I’ve met so many great people. More than anything I want to thank everyone for the support and friendship they’ve shown me over the years. Who knows? I may end up back in the industry. I have a spot in my heart for the industry and the people in it. I appreciate their support.”

He adds that the reaction he has received since his announcement has been overwhelming.

“I just can’t thank everybody enough. The level of support and the number of people who have reached out to me; I couldn’t have imagined the response I’d get,” he says. “It’s definitely a blessing to be friends as many [industry members]. Even past competitors have reached out to me with well wishes.”

Fransko says he plans to continue his involvement with the Window Film Professionals group as well as stay involved with the industry in some capacity.

According to Haytham ElZayn, CEO of SGD and Zola, “Patric was going to leave the company at the end of the month but we were surprised he chose to leave now. We are going to go in a different direction and we are no longer going to be distributing 3M films and he told me he is considering other ventures … he said he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be in the window film industry. We were sorry to see him leave and I know it was on good terms.

“We are staying in the window film business and the tool business,” adds ElZayn. “We are looking for and in discussion with various manufacturers to replace the 3M distribution. We are also doing other things we will soon announce to our dealers.”

In a formal statement, ElZayn says, “I would like to thank Patric for his service as the manager of SGD and wish him well in whatever endeavors he decides to pursue in the future.”

Earl Mangune has been appointed as manager pro tem for SGD and Zola. According to ElZayn, Steve Chambers, managing director of Pentagon Protection, will assume the role of COO for SGD and Zola.

“We’re looking forward to working with our dealers and providing them the same level of service that we have before and the same quality products as before,” adds ElZayn.

3M was the highest-ranked company related to window film on the list, making the list at 193. Saint-Gobain, manufacturer of Solar Gard, followed closely behind at 260. Eastman Chemical Co., maker of LLumar Window Film, was ranked 982 while PPF manufacturer Avery Dennison held strong at 1,698.

According to Scott DeCarlo, Forbes staff, the Global 2000 contains “the biggest, most powerful listed companies in the world … Our ranking of the world’s biggest companies departs from lopsided lists based on a single metric, like sales. Instead we use an equal weighting of sales, profits, assets and market value to rank companies according to size.”

Chinese banking companies dominated the top of the list, though other major names, such as Exxon Mobil and General Electric helped round out the top five.

James P. Rogers will continue to serve as chairman and CEO until January 1, 2014. He will then serve as executive chairman of the board. According to a statement from Eastman the transition is part of the board’s normal succession planning process.

“Being CEO of Eastman has been a great honor and truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Rogers says. “I am proud of what the entire Eastman team has accomplished over the past several years, and I have complete confidence that the company is well positioned to continue delivering consistent, superior value to our stockholders.

“I am pleased to pass the reins to Mark and our talented team of executives,” Rogers continues. “Mark is a proven leader who has been instrumental in developing and executing Eastman’s strategic plans for growth. I look forward to my continued service as executive chairman and to working with Mark to ensure a seamless transition.”

“I am honored to have been selected by the board of directors to lead Eastman as the next CEO and as a director,” says Costa. “I personally want to thank Jim for all that he has done for Eastman and for his incredible example of real leadership. I especially appreciate the opportunity to continue working with executive vice president Ron Lindsay and the rest of the executive team as we implement Eastman’s growth strategy.”

Costa currently heads the company’s Additives and Functional Products and Advanced Materials segments. He also serves as chief marketing officer and has responsibility for the company’s corporate innovation organization.

Speaking on behalf of Eastman’s Board of Directors, lead director Stephen R. Demeritt says, “Jim has courageously led Eastman through a time of tremendous change and we could not be more pleased with what he has accomplished as CEO. We look forward to his continuing contributions as executive chairman of the board.

“Eastman is fortunate to have a senior leadership team of incredible breadth and depth,” adds Demeritt. “We have tremendous confidence in Mark and the rest of Eastman’s executives to execute the company’s plans for growth and take Eastman to even greater success.”

As for growth in the window film sector of the company, Rogers and Costa both say they foresee further progress.

“Mark is going to be better than me at driving the organic growth,” says Rogers. “He’s very good at … developing products. Over the next few years, organic growth is going to be extremely important. That plays right to his strength … Mark was a leader in the acquisition of Solutia.”

“The integration [of Solutia] is going much better than I expected,” says Costa. “We’re seeing a number of opportunities to accelerate performance … especially in Interlayers and Performance Films. We’re continuing to find significant gains from Performance Films.”

“It has been my distinct pleasure to work with many of you over the years and I wanted to thank you for all of the support and business you have sent my way,” said Fransko in a statement.

“In the coming weeks, I will be taking some time to explore my options and to see what my next steps might be,” he added. “I will be sure to let all of you know my plans once they are determined.”

Stay tuned to windowfilmmag.com for more information on this story.

The intention of H.R. 1406 is “to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector,” according to the legislation.

In essence, the bill would offer employers the flexibility to decide whether to allow nonunion employees to trade overtime hours for time off. To receive the time off, an employee must put in a written request.

Called the “Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013” the bill says, “An employee may receive, in accordance with this subsection and in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required by this section.”

The bill also says, “No employee may receive or agree to receive compensatory time off under this subsection unless the employee has worked at least 1,000 hours for the employee’s employer during a period of continuous employment with the employer in the 12-month period before the date of agreement or receipt of compensatory time off.”

Moreover, the bill states that an employee cannot accrue more than 160 hours of compensatory time.

The House-approved bill says, “No later than January 31 of each calendar year, the employee’s employer shall provide monetary compensation for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding calendar year that was not used prior to December 31 of the preceding year …”

Moreover, the bill spells out that “the employer may provide monetary compensation for an employee’s unused compensatory time in excess of 80 hours at any time after giving the employee at least 30 days’ notice.”

If an employer decides to discontinue this policy, officials must give employees 30 days’ notice, the bill adds.

“An employee may also request in writing that monetary compensation be provided at any time for all compensatory time accrued that has not been used,” according to the bill. “Within 30 days of receiving the written request, the employer shall provide the employee the monetary compensation due.”

H.R. 1406 also includes a sunset clause, which means that if the bill is approved and enacted, it and the related amendments will expire within five years unless extended by Congress.

“The enhanced technology center is Eastman’s commitment to developing capabilities and growth in Singapore and the region,” says Dr. Gregory W. Nelson, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “It also demonstrates Eastman’s dedication to sustainability and echoes Singapore’s sustainability blueprint for enhanced resource efficiency to help overcome resource limitation for growth.”

“Eastman’s newly completed Asia Pacific Technical Center allows the company to better support its customers’ evolving needs. Through its comprehensive presence in Singapore—from manufacturing to innovation and HQ activities—and by leveraging Singapore’s innovation capabilities and proximity to the consumer, Eastman will be able to develop innovative and sustainable solutions in Asia for Asia,” adds Eugene Leong, director for energy and chemicals at the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The Asia Pacific Technical Center also includes the Solutia Technical Services Team following the $4.8 billion acquisition of Solutia in 2012. The company says in a statement it plans to “further strengthen local headcount in the next few years to grow the Performance Films and Interlayers businesses in Asia Pacific” as part of what it calls “a diversified portfolio strategy for sustainable growth.”

According to the opinion handed down by Judge A. Raymond Randolph, “Under the rule an employer’s failure to post the required notice constitutes an unfair labor practice … And the Board may consider an employer’s ‘knowing and willful’ noncompliance to be ‘evidence of antiunion animus in cases in which unlawful motive [is] an element of an unfair labor practice.’ … The Board, in other words, will use an employer’s failure to post the notice as evidence of another unfair labor practice.

“… Our doubt stems, in part, from a comparison of § 8(c) with the law established under the First Amendment,” continues Judge Randolph in the opinion. “We approach the question by considering some firmly established principles of First Amendment free-speech law. The first is that the ‘dissemination’ of messages others have created is entitled to the same level of protection as the ‘creation’ of messages.”

According to Randolph, allowing businesses to post the rule was not of concern, but rather, requiring and enforcing posting of the rule violated the First Amendment.

“… Of course we are not faced with a regulation forbidding employers from disseminating information someone else has created. Instead, the Board’s rule requires employers to disseminate such information, upon pain of being held to have committed an unfair labor practice. But that difference hardly ends the matter. The right to disseminate another’s speech necessarily includes the right to decide not to disseminate it,” he writes in the opinion.

Subsequently, Judge Randolph concludes that “the Board’s rule violates § 8(c) because it makes an employer’s failure to post the Board’s notice an unfair labor practice, and because it treats such a failure as evidence of anti-union animus in cases involving, for example, unlawfully motivated firings or refusals to hire—in other words, because it treats such a failure as evidence of an unfair labor practice.”

As the motivating force behind the rule, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would have required the poster to be placed in a conspicuous place within the work environment, informing employees of their right to unionize, and conversely, of their right to not join.

“The poster rule is a prime example of a government agency that seeks to fundamentally change the way employers and employees communicate,” says Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, one of the named plaintiffs in the case. “The ultimate result of the NLRB’s intrusion would be to create hostile work environments where none exist. The U.S. Court of Appeals has rightfully ruled that the NLRB has no authority to enforce notice posting. Stopping the NLRB’s burdensome agenda of placing itself into manufacturers’ day-to-day business operations is essential to preventing further government-inflicted damage to employee relations in the United States.”

Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), issued a statement opposing the ruling, saying, “The Republican judges of the D.C. Circuit continue to wreak havoc on workers’ rights. After attempting to render the [NLRB] inoperable (in the Noel Canning decision), the D.C. Circuit has once again undermined workers’ rights – this time by striking down a common-sense rule requiring employers to inform workers of their rights under federal labor law … The Court’s twisted logic finds that ‘freedom of speech’ precludes the government from requiring employers to provide certain information to employees. This is absurd: when workers know their rights, the laws work as intended.”

The NLRB had not yet released a formal statement at press time.